Fish and Freedom
by YoursAlways
Summary: It takes meeting a mermaid for Haru to find some direction in his life. But as she teaches him how to be her merman counterpart, he runs the risk of finding much more than just the freedom he'd been looking for in these new waters.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Free! - Iwatobi Swim Club and make no money from these writings. The original idea for this story belongs to Bishonen'sFoxyMiko.

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Fish and Freedom

Chapter One

Summer was in full swing in Iwatobi. Schools were out for their summer breaks, and that meant one thing for Makoto Tachibana: babysitting. Already in his second year of college, he'd come home for his break so that he could see his family and friends. He'd been accepted to a college several towns over and was enjoying his studies in Classic Literature, a decision that Ms. Amakata had been ecstatic about upon being told.

Rei and Nagisa had actually ended up going to the same school after they graduated and were even roommates in the campus dorms. The two younger boys had declared their majors as Chemistry and History, respectively. While Rei's choice hadn't come as a surprise to anyone, Nagisa's had struck everyone as being a little tame for the boisterous young man.

Makoto had been in touch with Rin a few times since coming back to Iwatobi. The redhead had gone on a family trip with his mother and sister, who had also come back for the summer. He wasn't sure what Gou had decided to study, but he knew that Rin was studying Sports Science. He was also still training in his swimming, and there was talk that he held a high chance of making it onto Japan's swimming team for the next Summer Olympic Games in a few years.

The only person that Makoto was really worried about was Haru. In the past two years since they'd graduated, his best friend had seemed a little lost. He was taking classes at a small community college, but he was only taking the cores that any degree would require. He'd left his major as "undeclared" and hadn't shown any interest in changing it. The only thing that Haru had mentioned even partially enjoying was the part-time job that Coach Sasabe had given him as a swim instructor at the Swim Club. Even though Haru wasn't a fan of teaching, he was happy that he got to be in and around the water as much as he did.

"We're almost there!" Ran called out happily from her spot several steps ahead of him and Ren.

"Yes, yes," He called back. "Go knock on the door." With that, Ran happily ran ahead of her brothers to go get the boy who had been like a second older brother to her and Ren.

Though their mother was a homemaker, she'd had an appointment that afternoon, so Makoto had offered to take the twins out for the day. They were currently on their way to pick up Haru for their day out together.

Makoto and Ren were just approaching the front door when they saw Haru slide the door open while still towel drying his dark hair. '_At least he's already out of the bath,'_ Makoto thought to himself with a small laugh. "Hey, Haru," he called out as he lifted a hand in greeting.

"Hey," Haru replied as he stepped aside for the siblings to enter his home.

"It looks like you're about ready to go," Makoto observed. Haru was already dressed in his street clothes of jeans, a t-shirt, and a short-sleeved hoodie.

Haru hummed as he pulled the towel out from around his neck and walked back towards the bathroom to drop it in the hamper. When he returned, he saw Ran and Ren looking over the books and pictures displayed on his bookcase. Still watching the two, he asked, "Have you talked to Nagisa and Rei?"

Makoto nodded happily as he answered, "They're meeting us there. I had to make sure that they were coming so that I have help keeping you out of the water." He chuckled at the flat look Haru shot him. "So are you ready to go? If we don't leave soon, we'll miss our train."

Nodding, Haru grabbed his house keys, cell phone, and wallet. He followed Makoto and the twins out of the house and locked up behind them before catching up with the trio. He'd planned on just spending the day at home after his only swim class of the morning had ended, but when Makoto had invited him on an outing with his little siblings, he'd had a hard time telling the other man no. It had always been that way. Well, that wasn't necessarily true. He often told Makoto no. He just had a hard time enforcing it.

He listened as the twins chattered back and forth all the way to the station. He usually found the small kids that he taught to be a little overwhelming with the way that they constantly talked about nothing in particular, but he'd never felt that way about Ran and Ren. He supposed it was because he'd known them since they were born. As an only child, they were as close to younger siblings as he'd ever had.

The train ride wasn't long. Deboarding and walking the few necessary blocks, Haru noticed that the closer that they got to their destination, the more excitable the children got. Finally, the large building came into view and Haru read the sign. Iwatobi Aquarium.

"We haven't been here in a long time," he mused aloud.

"I know," Makoto agreed with smile. He caught sight of Rei and Nagisa waiting by the ticket gate and waved. "But I've heard that they've done a lot of work to it and updated the exhibits in the last few years. One of Ran's friends apparently came and saw a show not long ago. After she told Ran about it, she's been asking to come here almost non-stop." He stopped as he watched his brother and sister run ahead to energetically greet his friends and former teammates. "And when I mentioned coming here to Nagisa, he seemed excited about it, too."

Once they had all paid their admission fees and entered the aquarium's main building, Haru turned to Makoto and asked, "What kind of show is it?"

"A mermaid show!" Nagisa cut in to answer excitedly.

"Mermaid show?" Rei questioned. "What's that? There's no such thing as mermaids, so what can they do for it?"

Makoto checked the brochure he'd picked from an information desk and said, "It only says, "Come see Iwatobi's very own mermaid at the water show." And then it lists the times."

"When's the next show?" Ran asked excitedly as she tugged on Makoto's shirt.

Checking the time on the brochure's schedule and then checking his watch, Makoto answered, "It looks like we just missed the noon show." At seeing his sister's face fall, he was quick to reassure her, "But there's another show at two. We can explore other parts of the aquarium between now and then." Ran's face immediately lit up again and she nodded once in acceptance.

As the group set out to go through the exhibits, Makoto told his siblings, "Make sure you're always holding one of our hands. I don't want you guys getting separated."

"Okay," the two answered in unison with Ren grabbing Rei's hand and Ran taking hold of Haru's.

Making their way through the maze of hallways, the four men and two children oh'd and ah'd at the aquarium's many displays. There were sharks and rays and jellyfish and other things that none of them recognized. Ren particularly enjoyed the deep sea fish with the way they glowed, but large jaws and jagged teeth on many of the fish had scared Ran. And Makoto too if everyone was being completely honest. Nagisa had nearly fainted at the sight of the penguins, and he and Makoto had worked to hold Haru back from climbing into the tank as Rei and the twins reached in to touch the sea stars on display.

Haru and Makoto had Ran and Ren on their backs as they walked through an acrylic glass tunnel. All around them was the large tropical fish and reef display. The light filtering through the water bathed the inside of the tunnel in a soft blue light. Haru watched and Makoto laughed as Nagisa opened and closed his mouth repeatedly in imitation of a fish he was watching. That was when they heard the commotion.

The group all turned at once to see a large gathering of people who were pointing and taking pictures. Moving to the other side of the tunnel to see what all the fuss was about, they were all shocked at what they saw.

Swimming down the side of the tunnel was a young woman with a tail. Since they were at the end of the group of people in the tunnel, she paused in front of the Iwatobi swimmers and held up a sign that she carried. It read, "Come see me at the show! Starts in 20 minutes!"

"What was that about mermaids not being real, Rei?" Nagisa asked sounding a little smug.

Rei sputtered a little, still shocked by what he was looking at. It was a sentiment that most of the group still shared. There, floating in the water while waving and smiling at them, was a young woman with the tail of a fish. The light salmon-pink scales went from her hips all the way down to where her feet would be and then forked into a wide but delicate fin. The only thing covering her top was what looked like a white, strapless bikini top adorned with white sequins and pearls. A few small patches of pink scales decorated her upper half and the area of her temples running down to her cheekbones. Bright blue eyes blinked at them from a lightly tanned face surrounded by a cloud of inky black hair that moved and shifted with each little movement.

Haru stumbled forward a little when Ran leaned in to press her hand to the glass. He watched as this mermaid smiled brightly and pressed her hand to the opposite side of the glass from Ran's. The little girl squealed when the mermaid pulled away and blew them a kiss accompanied by lots of bubbles. Waving again, she flicked her tail a few times before swimming away and out of sight.

Ran and Ren talked animatedly with one another about what had just happened while Nagisa teased Rei about his initial speechlessness. Makoto glanced over at Haru and saw that his friend's eyes were still locked on the glass in front of him where the mermaid had been.

Haru's eyes were wide as he swallowed thickly. It was a mermaid. Of course he knew that she wasn't a _real_ mermaid, despite how realistic the tail had seemed. He'd just barely been able to see where her knees and ankles bent in the tail as she swam away. But she got to be a _mermaid_. Her job was to swim through these tanks and perform at water shows. His pulse quickened as his chest tightened, and he quickly recognised it as the same feeling that he occasionally got during those pivotal win-lose moments in his races. He was excited.

Makoto watched as Haru finally turned to look at him. His normally apathetic blue eyes were lit with a desire that the taller man instantly understood. "Makoto," Haru said simply. Anyone else would have waited for Haru to elaborate, but Makoto had heard the statement hidden underneath his name. "_I know what I want to do now."_


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Free! - Iwatobi Swim Club and make no money from these writings. The original idea for this story belongs to Bishonen'sFoxyMiko.

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Fish and Freedom

Chapter Two

Settling into their seats near the front of the the aquarium's show arena, Makoto glance over at Haru. Ran and Ren were seated between them and all three wore the same look of anticipation. Looking ever farther down the line, Makoto laughed when he saw that Nagisa appeared to be even more excited than Ran.

"Are you guys excited for the show?" Makoto asked his younger siblings.

"I want to see the dolphins!" Ren cheered as he craned his neck up to get a better look down in the water.

"Do you really think the mermaid will be here?" Ran asked with hopeful wide eyes.

Before he answered, Makoto caught sight of Haru glancing his way as he also listened for the answer. "That's what the brochure and her sign said, so I'm sure she'll be here," he confirmed with a soft smile. He checked his watch again before he announced, "The show should be starting any minute."

As if on cue, a young man wearing a wetsuit and a microphone headset stepped out from a door along the platform at the back of the stadium. The large screen above him lit up with a closer picture so that the entire audience could easily see him as he smiled and waved. "Good afternoon, everyone!" He greeted them. He waited for the answering cheer to die down a little before continued, "My name is Kazuki and I'll be your host today. Who's ready to start the show?" The audience cheered loudly, but he scrunched up his face, put one hand to his ear, and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that. Who's ready to start the show?" At the next, much louder, cheer, he smiled brightly again and gave a thumbs up for the camera. "Now that's what I'm talking about!"

Kazuki made his way towards a narrow set of stairs that ran along the outside of the tank below and ended on a platform on the opposite side of the tank he'd just been on. Now much closer to his audience, water lapped up from the tank and onto his platform as he spoke, "First I'm going to tell you fine folks a little bit about this tank behind me." He motioned to the screen behind him which displayed a video feed from a camera inside the tank. "Inside this tank is a replica of part of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. We have two Green Sea Turtles in this habitat. They can be a little shy, but if you go down into the tunnels after the show, you might just catch a glimpse of them!" The image on the screen switched to the feed from a different camera where a large turtle could be seen swimming in the background.

Continuing with his presentation, Kazuki's voice echoed through the arena, "We're also going to have a few other guests joining us today. I think one of our first friends should be arriving any time now." He walked over to the edge of his platform and leaned down to splash one hand against the top of the small waves. Responding to their cue, three large seals broke the surface of the water and slid up onto the platform. Children of the audience squealed while many of the adults laughed. "Meet Miho, Miki, and Miku," Kazuki introduced as everyone cheered for the animals.

The show continued following much the same formula even after the seals departed and a pair of dolphins showed up to play. Kazuki knew exactly how to work the crowd as he kept everyone entertained and laughing. But he educated at the same time. He gave lessons on the different species of the reef, played games with the animals, and explained the importance of conservation.

Makoto watched Ren's face light up when the dolphins were doing their flips, but he noticed that Ran and Haru were looking more and more sour as time passed without so much as a mention of the mermaid that they'd seen earlier.

"Before we wrap up," Kazuki continued speaking as he stood with his hands on his hips. "There's one more type of animal in this habitat that I want to talk about. She's a big softie, and all of us here are very fond of her. Can we bring up a video of her on the screen?" He asked the video operator. Kazuki knew exactly what had become one of the big draws to this show, and he always loved the collective breath that the audience would hold at this point of his presentation. When a video feed popped up displaying a large, round, gray creature the audience laughed at being caught off guard. "This is Emi, our dugong. Isn't she pretty, folks? Emi and her kind are herbivores. The dugong's conservation status is listed as "vulnerable." That means that we need to do everything we can to get their populations back up before it's too late! There aren't many like Emi in captivity, so we're very proud and honored to have her here with us."

The screen went back to displaying the close-up of Kazuki as he walked the length of the platform, his feet splashing in the water. "You know, seeing Emi reminded me of something," Kazuki mentioned as though it was an afterthought. "Did you guys know that a lot of people think that dugongs are one of the animals that started the myth of creatures like mermaids?"

Looking over to his left, Makoto had to stop himself from laughing as Ran and Haru immediately perked up.

"But everyone knows that mermaids aren't real, right?" Kazuki asked his audience.

Just then, a dark head of hair eased up out of the water behind and off to the side of the show's host. The screen at the back of the arena showed a close-up of the new face. A pretty woman with blue eyes and pink scales running down her cheekbones pushed wet bangs back out of her eyes as she smiled brightly and held a finger up to her lips for them to keep quiet. But of course many of the children began to laugh and point for Kazuki to turn around.

For his part, Kazuki put on a puzzled face only to turn around and see nothing. He smiled down where he knew Kagome was hiding in the water. The kids loved this part. "What?" He asked as he turned back to his audience. "I don't know what you guys were pointing at. There's nothing there!"

Once again, a dark head popped out of the water before the woman pressed a finger to her lips again and glance up at Kazuki with mischief written on her face. Kagome drew one arm back before quickly bringing it forward and sending a splash of water to hit Kazuki's back. Prank successfully played, she quickly sank back beneath the water's surface.

"What was that?" Kazuki shouted as he turned around with a mock start. "Did you guys see what happened?" He asked as he turned back around to look at the audience. Many excited shouts and squeals of "A mermaid! A mermaid!" rang out, but Kazuki firmly planted his hands on his hips and shook his head. "You guys must be seeing things," he told them. "I've worked here for years. If we had a mermaid, I think I'd know about it."

Just then, with a large splash of water, Kagome hefted herself out of the large tank to sit on the edge of Kazuki's platform. Turning to face his co-worker, Kazuki pretended to stumble back a few steps as he cried, "A mermaid?! You mean you guys weren't just joking around?!"

The audience cheered as Kagome smiled and waved and blew a few kisses. She turned her attention back to Kazuki as he took a few cautious steps towards her. Pushing her wet hair out of her face once more, Kagome batted her eyelashes at him as she reached up to play with a long lock of hair. It's what mermaids did on land, after all.

"You know," Kazuki began slowly as he narrowed his eyes at Kagome. "In a lot of the legends and myths, mermaids can be pretty dangerous. They sank ships and lured sailors to their deaths. I like to think I'm a pretty good looking guy. Do I have anything to be worried about with you?"

Kagome made a show of tilting her head, pursing her lips, and tapping a finger to her chin with a contemplative expression. But after a moment she seemed to perk up again as she smiled and shook her head.

"Well that's a relief!" Kazuki sighed as he visibly relaxed. "I bet, as a mermaid, you know where all the best buried pirate treasure is, don't you?"

Kagome eagerly nodded at the question as she pointed down into the tank.

"Wait," Kazuki said in a surprised tone. "Are you telling me that there's treasure here?!"

Another eager nod and Kazuki turned to speak to the audience once more. "What do you guys think? Should we trust her? Do you want to see some treasure?" A loud cheer, and Kazuki was turning back to the mermaid seated at his feet. "You heard the people. Think you could bring back some of that treasure for us?"

With a wink and a thumbs up, Kagome slid back into the water before diving down, the fin at the end of her tail flicking up before submerging as well.

"Let's see if we can find her on the cameras," Kazuki said as he turned to face the large screen behind him. The picture flipped over to show Kagome swimming underwater.

Makoto looked over to Haru and saw that his friend's attention was solely on the woman on the screen.

Haru watched entranced at the way Kagome moved through the water. Even without kicking her legs back and forth, she moved quickly and with the ease that could only come from lots of practice. Her arms mostly remained by her sides as she let her fin propel her forward. Only occasionally would she stretch her arms out to help pull her deeper down to the bottom of the tank. The movement was so fluid and she made it seem so effortless. For the first that he could remember, Haru found himself wanting to swim something other than his usual freestyle front crawl.

On screen, Kagome made a show of looking around the area. The video feed would flicker between different cameras that were placed in the enclosure so that she was always in view. Finally, Kagome smiled widely and shot forward to where a tied sack seemed to be tucked away. She quickly grabbed it up before making a straight shot for the water's surface.

Coming back up in the middle of the arena's water, Kagome held up her bounty and the audience cheered loudly. She ducked under water and swam over to the platform only to jump out of the water again and settle herself back in her previous spot along the edge. Kagome untied the sack and peeked inside. As her face lit up, she held out the bag so that Kazuki could look inside as well.

Kazuki whistled before saying, "That looks like some pretty good treasure to me. Do you think you might want to share some with us?"

Kagome immediately drew the bag back to her chest and shot Kazuki a hesitant look.

"Okay folks, what do we say when we want someone to share something with us?" Kazuki asked as he turned to face their audience once more. He smiled as a large cry of "Please!" came from the group of people. Looking back to Kagome, he smiled and asked again, "So what do you say now?"

Kagome seemed to think about it for a moment before she nodded. Scooting across the wet platform and fully out of the water, Kagome sat on her hip and propped herself up with one arm while the other hand reached into the open bag that she'd placed in front of her. With a bright smile, she tossed handfuls of plastic gold coins and plastic pearl necklaces into the audience.

Ran ended up grabbing a couple of the coins while Ren managed to snag a necklace. Looking at what the other had, the twins quickly and wordlessly switched their prizes before sitting back in their seats.

Once all of the treasure was gone, Kagome picked up the bag, turned it upside down, and shook it a few times to show that it was now empty and she'd given away all of her treasure find. "It looks like that's it, folks!" Kazuki announced as he turned to face the audience. "That's our show for today." He and Kagome took their bows as the audience clapped and cheered, thought it was more like a deep nod for Kagome since she couldn't stand up.

Continuing before the audience could start to disperse, Kazuki announced, "Anyone who wants to meet and have their picture taken with our lovely mermaid, Kagome, can come line up by the gate in the bottom right corner of the arena's seating."

Ran, Ren, and Nagisa were immediately in front of Makoto, begging for him to let them get in line. "Okay," Makoto said as he stood and stretched his back. "Let's go get in line before it gets too long." Nagisa quickly ran off with the twins while he, Haru, and Rei followed at a calmer pace.

Once they were in line, Makoto looked to Haru and asked, "Are you going to have your picture taken with her too, Haru?"

Haru shook his head. "I just want to talk to her."

"About what?" Rei asked curiously having missed Haru's earlier epiphany in the tunnel.

"About her job," Makoto answered for his friend.

While Rei still seemed a little perplexed as to why Haru would want to ask the woman about her job, Nagisa quickly caught on and looked up from where he'd been talking to Ran and Ren. "Do you want to be a mermaid too, Haru?"

"Merman," Haru frowned a little at the blond.

Nagisa's pink eyes sparkled as he instantly pictured it. "You would be a perfect mermaid!"

"Merman," Haru corrected again.

Heedless of Haru's corrections, Nagisa began to babble about what Haru's tail would look like and how he would spend his days chasing mackerel.

The line steadily moved forward until it was their group's turn. The boys stood off to the side as Ran and Ren darted forward. Kazuki instructed them to take off their shoes so that they wouldn't get wet on the platform, and the twins quickly obliged. Approaching the smiling mermaid, one child crouched on either side of her.

"And what are your names?" Kagome asked with a gentle smile.

"I'm Ran!" The green-eyed girl chirped.

"I'm Ren!" The brunette boy answered.

"Ran and Ren," Kagome repeated. "I like your names! I'm Kagome. I see you both got some of my treasure."

The duo nodded before Ran, suddenly a little shy, asked, "Can I touch your tail?"

"Sure," Kagome answered with a laugh.

Ran reached out a hand and ran her fingertips over the scales of Kagome's tail. Pulling her hand back with a squeal, she said, "It's slippery! Misaki got to have her picture taken with you, too, but she didn't touch your tail."

Using context clues and figuring that Misaki was one of Ran's friends, Kagome leaned in as though to whisper a secret to the little girl. "The truth is," she started, "I would let anyone touch my tail. But very few people are brave enough to actually ask."

Ran pulled back with a happy blush on her cheeks at the mermaids praise.

"Okay, everyone," the aquarium photographer called out from a few feet in front of them. "Get in close. I'm going to take two pictures, so hold your pose!"

Kagome and the twins smiled happily at the camera as the photographer snapped two shots and waved for them to relax. Kagome watched as a tall brunette man and a shorter black-haired man approached the photographer. As the photographer handed the brunette a piece of paper with their picture numbers on it to take to the souvenir desk, she noticed that the black-haired man continued to watch her. The first thing she noticed was how intense and focused his blue eyes seemed.

It wasn't uncommon for men visiting the aquarium to stare at her. She was well aware that her top half was nearly bare while the tail that fit like a second skin didn't leave much to the imagination. She'd gotten more than a few glares from wives and girlfriends. But the way this man looked at her was completely different. He didn't look at her with any hint of physical attraction. It was more like…fascination? Unaware of what else to do, she waved at him as he walked away with the brunette man and two children. She was quickly distracted though, when her next visitor came running up.

Haru watched as Nagisa ran over to the woman playing the mermaid. The blond excitedly kicked off his sandals before dropping to his knees beside her, uncaring that the hems of his shorts got wet. Haru saw Nagisa ask the mermaid something to which she smiled and nodded before the younger man threw his arms around her in a hug and they both laughed while the photographer took the pictures.

Makoto watched Haru watching Nagisa and the mermaid. He knew Haru well enough to know that he was trying to figure out some way to talk to her about her job. Approaching his friend, he placed a hand on the shorter man's shoulder to grab his attention. "According to the schedule, this was her last show for today. Maybe we could ask around and see if she gets off anytime soon so that you can talk to her."

Haru nodded once before turning back to watch Nagisa give the woman one more hug before grabbing his shoes and running towards the rest of the group with Rei trailing behind him.

"Let's go get our pictures!" Nagisa cheered as he dropped his shoes and slipped them back on.

There was a line at the souvenir desk where other people were buying copies of their pictures, but when they finally reached the counter and Makoto was buying a few prints, he asked the clerk, "So she's really popular?"

"Oh yeah," the young girl, likely still in high school, answered with a quick nod that caused her bob haircut to bounce lightly. "Everyone loves coming to see her. And it's no wonder, you know? She's really good at what she does."

"Is she the only one?" Makoto asked conversationally.

"Here?" The clerk asked as she waited for the pictures to print off. "Yeah, they just started this mermaid program not that long ago. I think they're looking for some others, but it's apparently really hard. I'd love to do it, but I'm not a strong enough swimmer," she confided.

"Do you know what time she gets off work?" Makoto finally asked and he could feel Haru tense a little beside him.

"Soon, I think," the clerk girl answered. "I think she's usually out of here after she gets her makeup off."

"Yui!" The clerk's older co-worker hissed.

The girl looked to the older woman questioningly before realization dawned on her and she turned back to the group of young men. "Look," she said in a surprisingly firm tone. "She gets plenty of attention from creeps, so just leave her alone, okay?"

Makoto blushed and stuttered a little as he tried to correct the girl's incorrect assumption, but Nagisa was tired of waiting for his pictures and edged Makoto away from the counter before the taller man could get out what he wanted to say.

When everyone had their pictures, the group quickly moved away from the store, Makoto still embarrassed at the thought of the clerk mistaking him for some sort of pervert. Looking over to his best friend, Makoto suggested, "We could try looking for her? If that last reaction was anything to go by, I don't know that anyone is going to tell us anything about her. If we don't find her soon, we'll come back another day. But I'll need to get Ren and Ran home before much longer."

Even though the twins gave matching sounds of disappointment, but Haru nodded in agreement.

The group wandered the aquarium a while longer, occasionally stopping other employees to see what they knew about the mermaid's schedule. As expected, they got much the same reaction as they got at the souvenir shop. An hour later, they finally decided to call it a day and just come back another day.

Ran and Ren were once again on Makoto's and Haru's backs for the walk to the train station. With all of the excitement, the children had quickly tired out. Makoto spoke to Haru as they watched their train pull into the station, "Don't worry, Haru. We'll find a way to get in touch with her to ask."

Haru simply answered softly, "Yeah."

They all boarded the train, Ren and Ran slipping down into their seats and leaning against each other for a nap. Even though there wasn't anyone else at the station, the train waited several minutes for any extra passengers. It was almost time for the train to depart when the boys heard the sound of hurried sandals slapping against the pavement outside.

A woman stumbled her way into the train car just as the doors slid shut behind her. The swimmers watched silently as she panted as she was bent over with her hands braced against her knees. It was only when the train pulled forward and the woman lost her balance slightly that she moved to sit down. Since they were the only ones in the car, she slung her large dufflebag up onto the row of seats facing the young men before she plopped down in a seat next to the bag.

She was still catching her breath as she let her head fall backwards to rest on the glass window and mumbled, "I really need a car."

Haru narrowed his eyes as he looked at the woman across from them. She was in shorts and a light t-shirt with sandals, but her legs and feet were much paler than her torso and face. She wore sunglasses and her damp black hair was pulled back messily, but he was almost _positive_ that it was her. And apparently Makoto had the same thought.

"Um, excuse me, miss?" Makoto ventured.

Kagome's head leaned up from resting on the glass and she pulled off her sunglasses to finally get a good look at the men sharing her ride home. She blinked a couple of times before recognition finally took hold and she smiled. "Hey, it's you guys!" She said happily. "I'm usually alone on this ride. Imagine running into you again."

"We actually stayed at the aquarium for a little while trying to find you," Makoto admitted.

"Really?" Kagome asked a little uneasily. Red flags and alarms were going off in her head. She'd been approached by men from the aquarium before, but she didn't like the fact that it was happening with four men in a closed train car while she was alone. The only thing keeping her from really freaking out were the two sleeping children. Surely these guys wouldn't try anything with kids so close by.

"Mako isn't a perv or anything," Nagisa reassured with a smile. "We were trying to find you for Haru!"

"Haru?" Kagome asked still a little unsure.

"Haruka Nanase," Haru provided in a fairly flat tone. He just wanted to ask his questions. "I'm Haruka."

"Uhh…" Kagome began. This was all a little weird, even for her. "Okay?"

"I wanted to ask you about your job," Haru told her.

Shoulders instantly relaxing, Kagome laughed, "Is that all? Oh gosh, and I was getting all worried over nothing!" Taking a breath, she said, "What did you want to ask me?"

"What's your job like?" Haru asked bluntly.

"Well, if you're asking what I actually do at the aquarium, I actually have a few jobs," she began to explain. "I help feed and take care of the fish and other animals when I get there in the mornings and help clean the tanks after closing on weekends. I also work as a divemaster that takes guests on dives with some of the fish. Then there's the mermaid thing. That's the hardest, but it's the most fun," she said with a smile at the thought. "I move through some of the different tanks and exhibits. I'll swim along the glass and do tricks for the guests. There there are a few shows a day, like the one you saw."

"How hard is it?" Haru continued to question.

"The feeding and cleaning isn't hard, but it's pretty dirty work," Kagome explained as she settled more into her seat and crossed her legs. "The dives with guests can be a little stressful, because not everyone on those has a lot previous dive experience. But being a mermaid is harder than people might think. It takes a lot of work to get used to swimming with that tail, but it's a great workout. The other hard part is holding your breath for a long time and not looking uncomfortable. You have to make it look easy."

Curious, Rei asked, "How long can you hold your breath?"

"I think my longest time holding my breath underwater while I was being timed was five minutes and twenty-three seconds," Kagome answered. "But I think my average underwater is about four to four and a half minutes."

"Wow," Nagisa breathed in wonder. "Rei! Time me! I want to see how long I can hold my breath!" Taking a deep breath, the blond's cheeks puffed out as he tried to set his own record.

Kagome laughed. "It's not that easy," she warned. "And it's a lot different on land than under the water. For one, you know that you can take a breath whenever you need it. A lot of people get more nervous underwater, so their heart rate goes up. The key to holding your breath for longer is slowing your heart rate so you're not using up your oxygen as quickly."

Nagisa let out his breath with a deflated attitude, but he made a mental note to check his time next time he went swimming.

Kagome looked back across the aisle at Haru. "Is there anything else that you want to ask?"

Nodding with a small hum, he asked, "How can I do what you do?"

"What?" Kagome asked as she was taken slightly off guard. "Wait, you…do you want to join the mermaid program? You actually want to be a mermaid?"

"Merman," Haru corrected. Was it so hard for people to realize that he would be a mer_man_?

Kagome blinked several times in surprise before finally saying, "Well, I am in charge of finding people to build a small team for shows and things. I just haven't found anyone that seemed like a good candidate yet. I guess the most important question is how strong of a swimmer are you?"

"Haru's the best!" Nagisa spoke up for his friend. He knew that Haru had been looking for something that called to him, and he wanted to help the man achieve this now that he'd found something.

"Define "the best,"" Kagome said skeptically. She'd interviewed several people who were supposedly good swimmers, but none of them could quite cut it.

"We've all actually swam competitively since we were kids," Makoto mentioned. "Haru is easily the fastest out of all of us, though. He's won lots of awards."

"Really?" Kagome perked up. Fast didn't necessarily mean that he would be cut out for the type of swimming she did, but it was a start. She looked him over. He seemed strong and fit enough. And he had an attractive face, which would probably go a long way in convincing her boss to make him part of the show. Maybe she could give him a test. "What stop are you guys getting off at?" She suddenly asked.

"We all live in Iwatobi," Makoto explained. "But Haru and I get off at the station near the coast. Rei and Nagisa live closer to downtown."

"I get off at the coast stop, too!" Kagome enthused. "Small world, huh? I just moved to Iwatobi a couple of years ago, and was able to find a little apartment not far from the beach." Remembering why she had asked about stops in the first place, she continued again, "Anyway, I asked because if you want an audition of sorts, I don't mind meeting up with you sometime with some training gear that I use for practice. If you do well enough with it, I'll get you into the program and start training you. We'd just need to find somewhere to do it. I'd rather not do it in the ocean."

"We can use the pool," Haru said instantly.

Confused, Kagome asked, "What pool?"

"Iwatobi Swim Club," Haru elaborated. "It's where I work. Goro would let us use it after closing."

"Well that was easy," Kagome smiled. "When would be a good time for you?"

"Tonight," Haru answered with barely any pause between the end of Kagome's sentence and the beginning of his.

Laughing lightly, Kagome asked, "Eager, huh? Well, that's fine with me. What time should I meet you there?"

"Seven," Haru told her. There was no hesitation in his voice. He wanted to do this. He was determined to do this. And the sooner he got started, the better.

The train began to slow and Kagome grabbed the strap of her large bag. "What's in there?" Nagisa asked as he looked the bag over.

Looking down at her bag, Kagome answered, "A change of clothes, the stuff for my show makeup, and my tail."

"Your tail?!" Nagisa cried as he was immediately on her side of the benches. "Can I see it?"

Shrugging, Kagome unzipped her bag to reveal her silicone tail neatly folded and tucked into the bag. The only part she ever had trouble getting in was the actual fin of the tail. Nagisa reached down to touch the pink scales now that they were dry. "I want one," he pouted.

"I can point you towards a tailor that makes them, but they aren't cheap," Kagome laughed as she zipped her bag back up and stood, adjusting the strap on her shoulder. She watched as Haru and the brunette whose name she hadn't caught picked up the two children who had remained asleep for the entirety of the train ride.

As everyone stepped off of the train and into the small station, Kagome turned to face Haru. "I don't think I ever gave you my name," she said. "I'm Kagome," she introduced with a small bow, careful not to let the weight of her bag teeter her over. With a smile, she took a step away and said, "I'll see you at seven, Haruka Nanase."

The four men watched as Kagome walked away before Makoto spoke up. "Nagisa, Rei, why did you guys get off at this station?"

With a sigh, Rei answered, "Nagisa pulled me off the train with him."

"We're going to watch Haru's audition," Nagisa said as though it should have been obvious. "What are we going to do between now and then though?" He asked as he laced his fingers behind his head.

"First we need to take Ran and Ren home," Makoto answered as he shifted his sister's weight in his arms. "Then I suppose we should go let Coach Sasabe know what's happening tonight."

Haru followed after his friends as they made their way towards Makoto's house. It was only a few more hours until he got to prove that he had what it took to do what she did. He was made for the water. It was a fact that he'd known his entire life, felt it down in his very core. It's where he was comfortable and at home and it had never steered him wrong. Haru was positive, not a doubt in his mind, that the water wouldn't reject his dream. Now he just had to prove it to that woman, Kagome.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Free! - Iwatobi Swim Club and make no money from these writings. The original idea for this story belongs to Bishonen'sFoxyMiko.

* * *

Fish and Freedom

Chapter Three

Haru bit back a sigh of impatience. After they had gone to drop off Ran and Ren, Makoto's mother had invited everyone to stay for dinner. While the woman was a wonderful cook and had basically adopted him after his parents had moved away, Haru really just wanted to get to the pool. But in the end, he decided to just bite his tongue and eat with his friends and second family. Normally, the way that Makoto could easily read him and what he was thinking annoyed him a little, but as dinner was winding down, he was grateful for his friend's little talent. Makoto had been the one to notice him glancing at the clock and had eventually made their excuses that they had somewhere to be.

Now, as he could see the entrance to the Iwatobi Swim Club, it was all that he could do to keep his pace calm and even with that of his friends. People usually thought that since he didn't express much, that he also didn't feel strongly about much. But it just wasn't true. He experienced happiness, sadness, anger, and surprise just as much as his friends did. He just preferred to keep it to himself. For reasons that he had never fully understood, ever since he was little, expressing his emotions outwardly always made him feel vulnerable. It made him feel uncomfortable, so over time he became able to control what he did and didn't show. Now whenever he did show emotion, it was usually only in the faintest of ways and it was easily missed. It was just how he was most comfortable when around other people.

Though, truth be told, Haru both envied and admired people like Nagisa sometimes. Part of him had always wondered what it would be like to emote so openly and not care what other people thought.

When they were finally in front of the doors, Haru reached out to only find the door locked.

"Is Goro already gone?" Nagisa asked as he pressed his face to the glass.

"No," Haru answered. "The lights are still on." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his keys and unlocked the door. As the group of men entered the building, Haru explained, "He's probably just in his office going over paperwork."

Makoto lead the way down a side hallway and knocked lightly against the doorframe as he said, "Hello, Coach Sasabe."

"Makoto?" Goro asked as he looked up from an invoice to see his previous students standing just outside of his office. "What are you guys doing here this late?" He questioned as he stood up from his chair and made his way around his desk.

"I need to use the pool," Haru answered matter-of-factly.

While it wasn't uncommon for Haru to come in for a swim after hours, he didn't usually feel the need to let him know about it. So, filled with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion, Goro asked, "Why?"

Overflowing with excitement for what was to come, Nagisa burst out, "Haru's trying out for a new job!"

Goro blinked. He was quiet for several long moments before his brow creased and he looked at Haru. "Let me get this straight," he spoke. "You want to use _my_ pool to interview for a new job?" When Haru merely nodded, Goro sighed. Honestly, if it were anyone other than Haru, he might have actually been annoyed. But he had always known that Haru wouldn't work as a swim instructor forever. He'd hoped for it, really. He had known these boys since they were just little kids, with the exception of Rei, and he'd always known that Haru was meant for better things. And if he need to use the pool for his interview, it must have meant a job involving water. "Fine, okay," he finally acquiesced. "But what kind of job is this for, anyway?"

"Merman," Haru answered quickly before anyone could call him a mermaid again.

Goro opened his mouth only to close it again. He honestly hadn't been expecting that. "Haru," he began slowly. "Did you dive into the shallow end of the pool and hit your head?"

"No, it's not like that," Makoto laughed. "We went to the aquarium today. Apparently, they've added a mermaid to their shows. We ran into her on the train on our way home, and she said that they were looking for other people. Now she's coming here to test out how well Haru can swim as a merman."

"I'm still not following," Goro said as he rubbed the back of his head. "The aquarium has a _mermaid_?"

Nagisa hummed with a nod as he lifted up the envelope of pictures that he'd purchased earlier and pulled out one of the pictures. "Look! She's a diver at the aquarium, but she looks just like a real mermaid!"

Taking the offered photo, Goro's eyes widened. Sure enough, there was Nagisa hugging a woman who he would swear was a real mermaid if he didn't know better. Looking to the clock he had hanging on his wall, he said, "I promised Miho that I'd be home in time for dinner tonight, but I have to watch this. What time is she supposed to be here?"

"Seven," Haru answered just as they heard the front door open.

"Or now," Rei amended.

"Hello?" They heard a feminine voice call from the front hall.

"You boys go on ahead," Goro waved a hand at them. "I'm gonna call Miho and let her know I'll be a little late." He smiled a little as he picked up his phone. Sometimes he still couldn't believe that he had talked the model-turned-teacher into going out with him.

Once again with her trusty dufflebag, Kagome stood in the front hall of the Iwatobi Swim Club. She'd heard voices down a hall and had decided to wait for someone to come greet her instead of exploring. But then a wall of pictures caught her attention. It was labeled "The History of the Iwatobi Swimming Club," and one picture in particular caught her attention. She couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face as she looked at the much younger versions of the men she'd met on the train that afternoon. Except for the man with glasses; he didn't seem to be in any of the older pictures. But then next to the one that had caught caught her attention was another with the same boys plus the boy with glasses in almost the exact same pose.

"Hello," Makoto greeted as the four swimmers came into the entrance's main area. Noticing what Kagome had been looking at, he smiled. "Looking at the old pictures?"

"Yeah," Kagome answered with a nod. Pointing at the picture of the four young boys, she asked, "This is your group, isn't it?"

"That's right," Makoto said. "All of us except for Rei. That was taken before we met him. But he's in the one there that was taken a few years ago."

"Ah, okay. I was wondering," Kagome smiled as she turned to face the men. "Now, let me see if I can remember everyone's name. You're Rei, Nagisa, and Haru," she recalled as she pointed to each in turn. She'd heard them call each other by their names on the train. But she faltered when she tried to recall the name of the tallest man. "I'm sorry," she apologized with an embarrassed smile. "I don't actually think I've caught your name yet."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Makoto apologized with a small bow. "I'm Makoto."

"Nice to meet you," Kagome returned. "So where's the pool?" She asked.

"This way," Haru said as he started walking in the direction he indicated.

"So you guys have been friends for a while?" Kagome asked to make conversation as they walked.

"Yeah," Nagisa piped up from where he walked beside her. "Me, Mako, and Haru were all part of the swim club here when we were kids. Then we met Rei when we brought back the swim team in high school."

"That's neat," Kagome smiled at the man who was only a couple of inches taller than she was.

"How did you come to be a mermaid?" Rei asked as they continued their walk.

"Well," Kagome Kagome started as her eyes shifted to the ceiling tiles for a moment. "I grew up on a shrine in Tokyo, and after I graduated high school I really wanted a change of scenery. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my life at that point, so I moved out here and managed to find an entry-level position at the aquarium. After I was around the animals for a while, I decided that I wanted to apply to their animal trainer internship. Then one day I was talking to a friend who had just gotten back from a trip to America where she saw these mermaids in a water show. I looked it up online and showed it to my boss, and he really liked the idea of adding something like it to the aquarium shows. I was already a strong swimmer and had a lot of dive experience in the tanks, so I said I would work on putting something together. This is my first summer as an actual mermaid for the aquarium."

"Where did you get your tail?" Nagisa asked. "You'll eventually need a tail, Haru!"

"There are a few places that you can get the tails," Kagome explained. "But mine actually came from a designer in America called the Mertailor. I looked up a few different makers online, and I liked his they best. They're expensive though. The aquarium gave me an advance on the money so that I could order one."

"How expensive are they?" Haru asked as they stepped into the large room that held the pool.

"In US dollars, since that's where the maker is, mine was a little under three thousand dollars, but I got the most expensive model," Kagome said with a slight shrug when the four men looked at her in shock. "My tail is made of a high-quality silicone that has a tight fit and feels and looks more realistic. I actually have an order in for another, cheaper tail and a couple of accessories."

"How can you afford that?" Rei asked. "Does the aquarium pay that well?"

"Why? Do you want to try out too?" She asked with a teasing smile as she patted her bag. "And as for how much I get paid, you would be surprised." Turning to Haru she elaborated, "If this goes well and you're able to come work with me, you'll basically be paid for two jobs. We do behind the scenes things like feedings and cleaning, but you'll be paid separately for your work as a merman. Plus, since you'll be buying your own tail, you can do whatever you want with it on your free time off work."

Haru's eyebrows drew together slightly as he asked, "What do you mean?"

"What I'm saying is that the aquarium pays well, but private parties pay better," Kagome told him. "For private affairs, you get to pick and choose what jobs you take and negotiate your own contracts. I've already done a couple, and in the next couple of months, I'm booked for two birthday parties and a corporate event."

Haru nodded. Goro didn't pay terribly, but he was running a small business and could only afford to keep Haru on part-time. So if he was able to get this new job where he got to swim _and_ got paid better to do it…well, this job looked better all the time.

"Okay," Kagome continued as she set her bag down on the tiled floor. "Go ahead and get changed into your suit and take a dip to get your skin wet." The words had no sooner left her mouth than Haru was already diving in. Kagome's eyes widened before she blinked a few times and looked into the pool. "Holy cow, that was quick," she muttered. Looking to Haru's friends, she said, "I didn't know it was possible to get undressed that quickly! Was he wearing his swimsuit under his clothes?"

Makoto laughed a little awkwardly. "Yeah, he does that."

"And he's always been that way," a deeper voice added. They all turned to see Goro walking in to join them. Coming to a stop in front of Kagome, he introduced, "I'm Goro Sasabe. I own and run this place."

"It's nice to meet you," Kagome said with a bow. "I'm Kagome Higurashi."

"The boys tell me that you're a mermaid?" He asked with a raised brow. "And you're going to see if Haru has what it takes?"

"That's right," Kagome answered with a nod.

"Well," Goro said as he placed his hands on his hips. "If Haru can't do it, I don't think you'll have much luck finding anyone who can. That kid's been like a fish all his life."

Kagome laughed, "I guess we'll just have to see." Dragging her bag over to the side of the pool, she motioned for Haru to get out and sit on the edge. "You really only needed to get your legs wet, you know," she told him with an amused smile. "It just help reduce chafing with the equipment." She quickly pulled her shirt over her head and and shimmied out of her shorts to reveal a blue and white sport bikini under her clothes. "I'm going to get in the pool with you to show you how it's done."

Sitting down next to Haru on the edge of the pool, Kagome slid her legs into the water to dampen her skin before settling back on the edge. "Alright," she mumbled as she rifled through her bag a little. She soon pulled out two sets of swimming fins. "One of these should fit you," she told him. While Haru was seeing which set would be best for him, Kagome pulled out her own pair and a few straps that looked like wide belts. "These aren't anything official," she explained with a laugh while holding up the straps. "I made these to use while I was training myself to swim like this." Once Haru had slipped his feet into a set of fins, Kagome handed over three straps as she said, "I'll let you put them on yourself. Just do what I do."

Kagome proceeded to take one strap and loop it around her thighs just above her knees. She slipped one end through a plastic loop at the other end and pulled the slack tight before pressing the velcro sides together to keep everything in place. She repeated the process with another strap just above her ankles and the last one going around the fins where the arches in her feet were. She waited for Haru to get his straps in place before explaining, "These will keep your legs and feet from moving independently from each other." She easily slipped into the water and had her feet planted flat on the pool's bottom. The pool was shallow enough that the water only came up to her chest. "We'll probably have to work on treading water in a tank at the aquarium, but for now I just want to see how well you can swim like that."

Haru nodded as he slid into the pool as well. He held onto the edge to keep himself from wobbling on his bound legs. He looked back up to Kagome as she started speaking again.

"Okay," she began. "Now what you're going to want to do in the beginning is have your arms out in front of you, but your legs are going to push you through the water instead of your arms pulling you. It can take a few tries for you to get even the motions down. Think of your body moving in a waving motion. It'll start in your hips and follow down your legs to your feet. If you have trouble with it, I'll try to give you tips here and there, okay?" She finished with a smile. Pulling a hair band off of her wrist, she pulled her long hair back into a loose ponytail and said, "Just watch me and do what I do!" With that, she dove forward and lazily moved her body to propel herself forward under the water.

Over to the side, Goro kept his eyes on the pool but turn his head towards the others as he asked, "Who wants to bet that he gets it on his first try?"

"It is essentially the same motion that we use after the initial dive during races," Rei agreed. "I'm sure that he'll take to it naturally."

Makoto was quiet for a few seconds before he hummed and shook his head. "I don't know," he hedged. "Haru can be a little inflexible about the way he swims. I think he might have trouble fighting the urge to swim along the surface of the water."

"There he goes!" Nagisa gasped and everyone turned their attention back to the pool.

Haru dove forward as instructed and got in a few good strokes of his "tail" before his body unconsciously began to rise to the surface. Frowning, he tried again only to be met with the same result. Again he tried, and again he rose. He didn't even mean to do it. He'd spent so many years training to do exactly that while swimming, and now that he wanted to stay underwater while swimming, he was having trouble getting over years of muscle memory. He looked to his left when Kagome surfaced near him.

She had been watching him and saw the trouble he was having. Honestly, if it wasn't for his trouble actually staying down, Kagome would have called the man a natural. "You're doing really well so far," she pointed out. "But try using your arms as your rutters. I usually keep my arms by my sides, but I use them sometimes when I need to stay down or dive deeper."

Nodding, Haru took a breath and tried again. When he felt himself start to rise, he pulled his arms back towards him and pushed his body down deeper into the water. As Kagome had said, he kept his arms by his side until he needed to push himself back down. Suddenly, the woman was swimming alongside him with a wide smile and a thumbs up. She pointed her finger towards the water's surface and they both went up for a breath.

"That's really great!" She cheered. "I actually had my doubts, but you picked up the motions really well. You'll still need to learn how to really control and steer yourself with a tail, but I think you'll be able to learn everything relatively easy. I just need to check one more thing before I make my decision."

Haru gave Kagome an expectant look as he waited for her to continue.

"A big part of this is how long you can hold your breath," she explained. "I'm going to help keep you underwater while I time how long you can hold your breath. I also want to check your pulse to see if it speeds up too much."

"Okay," Haru answered simply. If that was the only thing left, he felt confident that there wouldn't be any problem.

"Let's head back over to my bag and get this equipment off," Kagome told him as they dove back underwater and swam to the other end of the pool.

"Well?" Nagisa asked anxiously when they came back up in front of where the rest of the group waited.

"It went really well," Kagome smiled with a nod. She reached down into the water and removed the strap around her thighs before continuing, "Just one more thing that I need to check." Once she and Haru had their straps and fins off and on the edge of the pool, Kagome reached into her bag and fished out a stopwatch. "Waterproof," she said as she showed it off. Turning back to Haru, she explained, "What you're going to do is push as much of the air from your lungs as you can, take a deep breath, and then we'll both go under. I also want to check your pulse rate up here and then again underwater. That okay?"

Haru nodded as he handed over his wrist and Kagome felt around until she found his pulse. At the same time, Haru pushed the air from his lungs with a long exhale, took a deep breath, and the two went under together as Kagome started to time him.

Kagome still held onto Haru's wrist and felt for any change in his pulse, but when she felt the change, she was surprised. '_It's actually slowing down?'_ She thought. '_That usually takes training. Most people have their hearts speed up.'_

The two continued to sit on their knees under the water and stare at each other. There really wasn't much else to do. Kagome almost blew the whole test as she bit back a laugh. Haru just looked so incredibly bored as he sat there with his dark hair waving around him. '_He really would make a great merman,'_ she thought as she looked him over under the water. He just sort of seemed to fit that environment and looked natural in it. It occurred to her that they would actually make a great pair since they both had black hair and blue eyes. '_I wonder what color tail he'll get?'_ She thought absently but came back to the moment when Haru moved towards the surface again.

They both gasped slightly as the took in the oxygen they'd been depriving themselves, and Kagome looked down at her stopwatch. "A little over two minutes," she said before looking up to the blue-eyed man. "That's a really good starting time! Some breathing exercises to work on your lung capacity and you'll be up to four or five minutes in no time." Pausing as a thought struck her, Kagome gave Haru an appraising look before she said, "Smile."

"What?" He asked confused at the command.

"I don't think I've seen you smile at all since we've met," she explained. "Aside from all of the swimming and tricks, you have to actually interact with guests and look happy doing it. So let me see your smile."

Haru faltered for a moment before he forced a very small smile. He hated every second of it, but if it would get him closer to this job, he'd do it. The smile faded completely and a frown took its place when Kagome started laughing.

"I'm so sorry," she gasped around her giggles. "That…that was just the grumpiest smile I think I've ever seen." She took a few breaths to calm her unprofessional behavior and eventually said, "You know what, don't worry about it. We can probably sell having a merman with a more serious nature. I'll smile enough for the both of us."

"Does that mean he passes?" Makoto asked from where he and the others stood above the two in the pool. They were all waiting with baited breath for Kagome's answer.

"I'll still have to clear it with my boss and get all of the paperwork done, but yeah, it's safe to say that he's hired," Kagome smiled up at the other men with a nod.

Haru immediately turned to face Goro and said frankly, "I quit."

Goro rubbed a hand over his face. Part of him wanted to be angry or irritated at Haru's resignation, but he knew that was just how Haru was. "Fine," he ground out. "You were never that great at teaching kids anyway."

Makoto looked down at his friend in time to see the barest hint of a smile tug at the corners of Haru's mouth.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Free! - Iwatobi Swim Club and make no money from these writings. The original idea for this story belongs to Bishonen'sFoxyMiko.

* * *

Fish and Freedom

Chapter Four

Kagome knocked three times in quick succession on a closed office door and waited until she heard the call to enter before she reached for the door knob. "Morning, Hiroshi," she greeted with a sunny smile.

The man, who was very much _not_ a morning person, looked up at her from his computer screen and furrowed his brow. Looking back down at the time displayed on the monitor, he turned his attention back to his employee. "Kagome," he greeted with a questioning hesitance. "I know you like to come in early, but this is a bit much even for you, isn't it? We don't open for another two hours."

"You're right, it is a little early," she agreed as she leaned her shoulder against his office's door frame. "But I brought someone with me that I want you to meet."

"Not a man is it?" Hiroshi replied with a teasing smirk. "You're not running off on me and getting married, are you?" He laughed when Kagome leveled him with a flat look. He'd been hesitant to hire her when she'd first come to the aquarium looking for a job, but he'd decided to give her a chance even though she had no real previous work experience. In the end he'd been pleasantly surprised by her hard work and had started taking an interest in her. Not in a weird or creepy way; he was more than fifteen years older than she was. But he learned that she had moved out to Iwatobi on her own and had no friends or family in the area. After that, he'd taken it upon himself to look out for the girl. He felt almost like an older brother. And he knew that he wasn't the only one at the aquarium that felt that way. Kagome had gained a rather large and protective surrogate family.

"Ha ha, very funny," Kagome said with a roll of her eyes. "I'll go ahead and do HR the favor of reminding you that comments like that could count as harassment."

Hiroshi gave her a completely unapologetic smile as he leaned back in his chair. "You know I'm just teasing," he told her. "And we both know that you wouldn't report me for some little comment, anyway."

"You just wait until I'm having a bad day," she threatened but it lost some of its heat when she cracked the smile that she couldn't fight anymore. "But, since you brought it up, he actually is a man."

"Who?" Hiroshi asked having forgotten why Kagome had originally stopped by his office.

"The guy I brought by for you to meet," Kagome sighed. She really did love her boss, but sometimes he made her want to beat her head against a wall. "I want to add him to the mermaid program."

"Woah now," he said as he held up a hand to halt her. "When you wanted to start this thing, I thought it was just going to be other pretty girls."

Kagome frowned. "Seriously, Hiroshi. HR. Go pick up a pamphlet or something about what you can and can't say," she told him before continuing. "And I know what you thought it would be. I didn't expect any guys to be interested, either. But Haru really wants to be part of this, and he's the only interested person I've met so far who's a strong enough swimmer to do it."

"Fine," Hiroshi sighed after a moment as he rubbed a hand over his short hair. "Bring him in."

Kagome beamed at her boss before running back down the hallway to the small waiting room where she'd left Haru and her trusty dufflebag. She soon returned, Haru in tow, and ushered the young man into the office before following him inside. Depositing her bag in the corner of the room, she turned back to make the introductions. Deciding to be a little more formal, she said, "Haru, meet Mr. Arai. He's the head manager here at the aquarium. Mr. Arai, this is Haruka Nanase."

Hiroshi gave the young man a small nod before he said, "So is it Haruka or Haru?"

"Haru," the man at Kagome's side replied.

"Well then, Haru, have a seat," Hiroshi told the younger man as he gestured at the two chairs positioned in front of his desk. He watched as Kagome and Haru sat down before he leveled his gaze on the young man. "Kagome tells me you want to be a mermaid," he spoke.

"Merman," Haru corrected in a way that was becoming second nature. "And yes."

"Why do you want to be part of our program?" Hiroshi questioned.

"I want to swim," Haru answered honestly.

Hiroshi's brow scrunched as he asked, "Is that all?"

"Yes," Haru told him. He saw no need to lie to the man about the reason he was interested in the job.

"You know you'll be doing other things like Kagome does, right?" Hiroshi continued as he watched Haru nod once. "Cleaning, feeding, assisting section managers and such; you're okay with doing that work too?"

"I am," Haru answered.

From her seat, Kagome gaped at Haru. Had he never been in a job interview before? Part of the process was trying to sell yourself, not answer in as few words as possible.

Hiroshi tilted his head as he considered the young man before him. "You don't talk much, do you?"

"Not really," Haru shrugged.

"I like employees that know when to keep their mouths shut," Hiroshi smiled. He knew that he was being incredibly informal for an interview, but in his mind the kid hadn't formally applied for a job. "Kagome says you're a strong swimmer. How much experience do you have?"

"I swam competitively through elementary school, part of middle school, and most of high school. I also worked as a part-time swim instructor at the Iwatobi Swim Club for the last two years," Haru explained.

"I already tested him, Hiroshi," Kagome piped up. "He tried out my training gear and did really well. A little practice and he'll be perfect."

Hiroshi nodded slowly a few times as he looked between the two young adults before he frowned again. "You two related somehow?" He asked curiously.

Kagome and Haru looked at each other before looking back to the aquarium's manager and shaking their heads

"Then you two look creepily similar," Hiroshi commented and he smiled when he heard Kagome sigh. He would never admit it to the girl, but messing with her was one of his small joys in life. Leaning back and lacing his fingers behind his head, he shrugged and said, "Well you have my approval, whatever that's worth. I told Kagome when she proposed starting this thing that she'd be in charge of it. The show's actually generating some buzz and bringing people in, so I don't mind bringing on another person or two and seeing how it goes." He turned his attention to Kagome before he continued, "Whether or not he meets the requirements is your call. I'm assuming you brought him in this early to get a jump on his paperwork?"

"You know me so well," Kagome smiled with a nod. "The sooner he starts, the better. It'll take a while to get him trained for everything, and I want to get him into the show as soon as possible. Do you think his paperwork can be pushed through so he can get on the clock today?"

"Maybe," Hiroshi said with a shrug. "I'll call HR and see what I can do. You two head that way and pick up the paperwork so you can get started."

Haru stood up and looked down at Kagome when she didn't move from her seat. Kagome gave her boss an expectant look as he picked up his desk phone.

Noticing Kagome's stare, Hiroshi paused as he put the phone to his ear. "What?"

"Can I get the company card for Haru's tail?" Kagome asked sweetly.

"What? You have to be joking," Hiroshi said as he looked at Kagome as though she'd lost her mind. "Those things cost a small fortune and I don't even know that he'll stick around through the training. I'm not going to throw money down the drain if he can't hack it here."

"Please, Hiroshi," Kagome whined as she slid forward to rest her chin on the edge of the older man's desk. She would like to think that she was above begging, but she was well aware of the man's soft spot for her. If a little eye fluttering got results, she didn't mind stooping every now and then. "Those tails can take a few months to make and get here. If we ordered one right now, it might get here by October. That'll be plenty of time to train him. I know he'll do a great job and stay on. Please."

"It's too much money for me to chance, Kagome," Hiroshi told her in a firm voice that didn't let on just how close he was to caving.

Kagome looked over her shoulder at where Haru stood. She chewed on her lip for a moment as she considered an idea. Sure, she'd just met the guy, but he seemed so serious about doing this. He didn't seem like the type to bail on something he really wanted just because things might get a little hard. Hoping that she wouldn't regret it later, Kagome turned back to Hiroshi and said, "What if I pay for it if he bails on the program?"

Hiroshi arched a brow at her and she continued, "Yeah, just hear it out. You let me order Haru's tail with the company card. If he stays, great. He'll pay it off on his own. I'm going to put my faith in him. But if he quits, I'll cover the loss to the aquarium. I'm the one recommending him, after all."

"Are you sure?" Hiroshi asked her seriously. "You're that serious about him working here?"

Glancing back at Haru one more time, Kagome turned back to her boss and friend as she nodded, "Yeah, I am."

"Fine," Hiroshi finally conceded as he unlocked his top desk drawer and withdrew a plastic card. He reached across the the desk to hand it over, but drew it back at the last second as he said, "Just know that he's your responsibility now."

"He's not a dog, Hiroshi," Kagome rolled her eyes as she took the card from him. "And you'll see, he's going to do great."

Kagome watched as Hiroshi finally dialed the extension number for Human Resources, and waved before she picked up her bag and followed Haru out into the hall before shutting the door behind them. "Sorry we talked about you like you weren't there," Kagome apologized. "He just needs a little convincing sometimes."

"It's fine," Haru told her as he followed Kagome when she started walking again.

"Let's head over to HR so that we can get a jump on your paperwork," she said as she smiled at him brightly. "After that, today will be sort of like a shadow day. Since we'll be doing the same jobs, you can just spend the day getting familiar with the place and seeing what I do when I'm not doing shows."

Haru nodded and watched as Kagome shifted her dufflebag and adjusted the strap on her shoulder. He briefly wondered exactly what was in the bag as it looked heavy, but he didn't think it was his business and therefore didn't ask.

Kagome, however, noticed him eyeing the bag and patted it with her hand. "This is what I've dubbed my "show bag,"" she explained. "My tail is pretty flexible, so it I can fold it up small enough to fit inside with whatever makeup and accessories I need that day. I also usually keep a change of clothes and a pair of shoes inside, just in case." They walked a little farther, turned down another hall, and were soon outside a door labeled Human Resources.

Walking inside, Kagome smiled at the only person in the office at the hour. "Morning Hana," Kagome greeted the older woman. "Did you already talk to Hiroshi?"

"I did," Hana said as she pulled a few forms out of a folder before placing the folder back into a filing cabinet drawer and sliding it shut. "Is this the young man he mentioned?"

"Yes," Kagome answered as she introduced quickly, "Hana, Haru. Haru, Hana."

"You'll need to fill these out," Hana told him as she walked around the desk and handed Haru the stack of papers along with a pen. "When you're finished, just give them back to me and we'll get you set up. At Hiroshi's pushy insistence, you'll start receiving pay for today's work, but you'll be getting a paper paycheck until we can set up your direct deposit."

Nodding, Haru took the papers from the woman and sat at a nearby table to fill out his information. Nearby, he could hear Kagome and Hana talking.

"Is Hiroshi behaving?" Hana asked dryly. She knew that the man was harmless enough, but he was a Human Resource Officer's nightmare if he said the wrong thing to the wrong person.

Kagome scrunched her nose and teetered one hand back and forth to imply a so-so answer. "He's his usual self."

Hana smirked a little as she said, "That's not exactly a comforting thought." When the phone rang, she excused herself to return to her desk and take the call.

Taking a seat beside Haru, Kagome watched him write and silently thought that he had very neat handwriting for a man. Her brother's penmanship was atrocious; barely legible chick-scratch is what she tended to call it. But Haru's writing was neat and tidy. She was mildly impressed.

It took a few minutes for Haru to finish up the paperwork, but he eventually stood to return the papers and pen to Hana who sat at her desk going over some other documents that he had no clue about. "Okay," she told him as she took the papers from Haru and gave each one a quick once over. "Everything looks good. I'll get started on this. Payday is every other Friday. I'll let Kagome explain anything else, but feel free to come back here if you have other questions or concerns."

"Thanks, Hana!" Kagome called out as she grabbed Haru by the elbow and tugged him along out of the office. Once they were out in the hallway, she released him and motioned for him to follow her. "We need to get you a shirt," she told him as they took another hallway that ended with a plain, unmarked door. Kagome pushed through the door and went down the flight of stairs that were on the other side. One more door and they were in a cement hallway. The floor was smooth concrete while the walls were beige-painted cinderblock. Pipes of different diameters and colors ran along the ceiling along with florescent lights placed at measured intervals. "This way," Kagome motioned again as she started walking.

The pair walked in silence for a few minutes before Kagome spoke again, "So how long have you lived in Iwatobi?"

"Since I was born," he answered simply.

"Your friends seemed nice," she commented.

Haru hummed but didn't respond otherwise.

Looking at him out of the corner of her eye, Kagome said, "It wasn't just with Hiroshi, was it? You really don't say much?"

"Not really," he told her. He turned his head to see her watching him. He almost drew back a little with the intensity of her stare. She seemed very…focused.

Finally, Kagome shrugged with a small shrug. "Okay," she said with a small smile. "I can work with that. I'm pretty good at reading untalkative men." She saw that he gave her a questioning look and elaborated, "You and I are going to be working together a lot every day that we're here. We should get to know each other, be friends, all that good stuff. So let's see…how about siblings? Any brothers or sisters?"

Haru blinked and Kagome watched him closely. In the time she'd spent trying to get a read on Inuyasha or trying to see the truth behind Miroku's jokes and false smiles, she really had gotten pretty good at reading people. "That's a no," she said slowly. "An only child, huh? I have brother," she volunteered. "His name is Souta, he lives on our family shrine in Tokyo with our mother and grandfather, and he's thirteen." She watched as Haru nodded a couple of times, and she pressed her lips into a thin line as she tried to come up with a good question to ask him. Before she could come up with anything, the hallway opened up into a large room with locker-lined walls and a few tables and chairs.

Sighing at not being able to think of anything, Kagome began their tour with their first stop of the day. "This is our break-slash-prep-slash-locker room," she explained as she waved an arm out in gesture to the room. Kagome dropped her bag before walking over to a narrow door and opening it to step inside what appeared to be a small storage closet. "What size polo do you wear?" She called from where she was rummaging through some boxes on a set of wire shelves.

"Medium," Haru answered as he stepped closer to the door.

Kagome hummed as she checked a couple of boxes before emerging with a triumphant "Ah ha!" She tossed two shirts to Haru as she said, "One of those and a pair of khaki's will be your uniform for just walking around the aquarium. It's what you'll wear when you're anywhere visitors can see you, so mostly for feedings and stuff like that." Glancing down at the khaki pants that she'd instructed him to wear that day, she instructed, "Go ahead and slip one over the shirt you're wearing. You'll want to get a pair of non-slip shoes, too."

Picking up her bag again and moving to a small table situated in a corner, Kagome finally settled her bag under the table and left it there. "Like it?" She asked with a smile as she motioned to her little corner. There was a small rectangular table with a mirror hung above it and two lamps, one mounted on either side of the mirror. It was a makeshift vanity table. "This is as close to a dressing room as I get," she laughed. "It's not much, but it's a good place to do hair and makeup. I guess this'll be your space soon, too." She moved away from the table and motioned again for him to follow her. They walked to a large whiteboard that was hung at the end of a row of lockers. "This is the duty board," she explained. "It tells you who's working that day, where you're assigned, and what your duties are."

Haru's eyes skimmed over the board and found Kagome's name. Following the row over a couple of columns to the appropriate day, he saw that it was marked "F: peng./aq. mam." and that was it.

Kagome saw what he was looking at and continued to explain, "Outside of shows, we'll usually have one of two types of jobs: cleaning or feeding. The "F" stands for feeding, and a "C" would stand for cleaning. You won't be on tank cleaning duties until you learn how to use scuba gear, but you might still get put in one of the enclosures that has a land habitat. As for the abbreviations, "peng." is for penguins and "aq. mam." is for aquatic mammals." She turned to fully face him and gave him an understanding smile, "I know I'm throwing a lot at you, and there's plenty more to come, but it really doesn't take that long to pick up on. If you need me to slow down or have any questions, just let me know, okay?"

Haru looked down at the shorter woman and nodded. "Okay," he told her. It looked like she was about to say something else when someone came into the room from the hallway they'd taken earlier. He was about Haru's height, maybe a little taller, with dark brown hair that bordered on red and hung down to graze his shoulders. Haru recognized him as the host from the water show the day before, but he couldn't recall his name.

"Hey, Kazuki," Kagome smiled as the man strolled up to them sipping on a cup of what could be assumed to be coffee.

"Morning," Kazuki greeted with a yawn before he stopped to look at the board they were standing in front of. "Hey, looks like you're in my area today!" He said with a smile as he bumped Kagome with his hip.

Kagome hip-checked him in return with a little more force before she introduced her future show partner. "Kazuki, this is Haru," she said as she gestured to the man beside her. "Haru, this is Kazuki. He's a trainer and show announcer here. He's also the manager for the aquatic mammal habitats."

Haru nodded while Kazuki threw up a lazy, one-handed greeting. "Nice to meet you," Kazuki finally said as he moved to sit at a nearby table. He pulled a to-go bag out of his backpack before digging out his breakfast. "You guys want any?" He offered as he unwrapped one of several bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits.

"I'm good," Kagome said as she wrinkled her nose. "I'd like to hold off on having a heart attack for a few more years."

When Haru also shook his head, Kazuki shrugged and took his first bite. "So," be began before swallowing. "What are you going to do here, Haru?"

"Mermaid program," Haru answered and almost arched a brow when Kazuki choked a little.

"Is that so?" Kazuki asked after getting his coughing under control. Looking to Kagome he said, "Well look at you, getting a new recruit already. Good job!"

Kagome smiled brightly. "I'm so excited to have Haru join the program," she enthused as she looked over to the blue-eyed man. "You should see him! He's already really good at using the training gear."

Kazuki looked back to Haru as he asked, "Did she tell you that she tried me out on that stuff?" When Haru shook his head and gave a slightly confused look, Kazuki continued, "Yeah, I just couldn't get the hip movement right. It's all good though. I like announcing the show more."

Watching her friend unwrap a second biscuit, she frowned a little and asked, "Don't you have prep to do in your area before we open? Should you really be eating breakfast right now?"

"I got up late," Kazuki defended. "No time for breakfast at home. Besides, I have underlings to take care of prep."

"Underlings?" Kagome questioned before realization hit her. "Do you mean your _interns_?"

"Underlings, interns; to-may-to, to-mah-to," he answered with a shrug.

"_I'm_ one of your interns," Kagome ground out. She'd been assigned to Kazuki when she'd entered the internship program.

Kazuki smiled cheekily up at her as he cooed, "And you're one of my most special little tomatoes. You have your own little program and everything."

Kagome finally just rolled her eyes and opted to ignore the man. Walking over to her bag and reaching inside, she pulled out her own aquarium polo and pulled it on over her t-shirt. She was tucking it into her pants as she walked over to Haru and said, "Ready to get a start on things? We're due with the penguins for their breakfast." She smiled when Haru gave an affirmative answer and nodded. "Great! Let's go then.

"Oh, wait for me!" Kazuki called after them. He quickly pulled a marker from a pocket on his backpack, wrote "free to good homes" on his take-out bag, and arranged his remaining biscuits around the sign. Throwing the marker in his bag and his bag in his locker, he grabbed his coffee and half-eaten biscuit to follow after the younger man and woman. Watching Kagome try to feed the penguins was always good for a laugh.


End file.
